Comments on: Interview: Pastor Dorcas George (Part 3)

By: Frances Lloyd

Frances Lloyd — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 22:05:42 +0000

I found your article interesting as well. I became a woman pastor in Charismatic circles in the 70’s. It is just now being accepted more. They talk a good game, but when it came down to it, there was prejudice. The men pastors sometimes were the worst of all. And still we go on and we love them.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 01:37:47 +0000

Thank you so much for posting this interview with Pastor Dorcas George - it really was a blessing to me.

I had the wonderful experience of growing up in 2 charismatic churches. The very first church that I attended and the place where I became a Christian was pastored by a vibrant and dynamic woman. The second church that I was a part of was the Assemblies of God, which is the church that Pastor Dorcas is now a part of. In both churches, I had no clue that there was anything called “gender roles.” In fact, I did not know anything about that until college, where I got involved with the larger evangelical community and specifically with a PCA church (PCA stands for Presbyterian Church in America, and they were formed in part as a reaction to the PC(USA)’s decision to ordain women). Since then, unfortunately, I had been struggling terribly over the issue of whether or not women should be ordained.

I am so delighted that this interview was done, in part, because the Pentecostal/Charismatic churches have ordained women for many years (since the early 1900s!) and there is a lot that evangelicals can learn from them, despite other differences which may exist with regard to spiritual gifts. If you are interested in reading a book about the incredible history of charismatics empowering women, I would recommend “In the Spirit We’re Equal” by Susan Hyatt (available on CBE’s web site). It’s one of my favorites. I hope and pray that CBE will continue to track the careers of vibrant charismatic pastors in the future.

However, even in charismatic denominations, there has been a tendency for women to lose influence as the years go by and as denominations become more bureaucratized. I have heard that this is precisely the kind of thing that has been happening in the Assemblies of God over time. That’s why I really appreciated the list of suggestions that Pastor Dorcas quoted for church leaders (whether male or female) to constantly encourage women to be recognized, be empowered, and step into leadership positions. Thank you once again for this encouraging post!

By: P.S.

P.S. — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 21:27:47 +0000

I don’t know if other denominations are like the churches I’ve attended: the women do most of the work, the teaching, the singing, the organizing, with the possible exceptions of ushering and pounding nails and climbing ladders. Then, traditionally, they hit the glass ceiling.

But we now have many women pastors. I have a personal interest in how well they are received, as our church now has a woman pastor and I have a woman relative in seminary.

By: TeriLynn

TeriLynn — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 23:42:43 +0000

That poor Hispanic woman. I think often about women who mold themselves into other’s expectations. Later in life when they realize what they could have been had they not listened to people who said they could not because women were not allowed, the loss is significant.

Anything that we can do to encourage people to listen to God first and be free to grow into everything that God may call them to do, is going to benefit humanity and God’s purposes. I hope that woman will find out that it is not too late for her to have an impact for Christ. Christ can use whatever we are, where ever we are.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 04:57:13 +0000

Thank you for the suggestions posted in this blog. They will be most helpful to egalitarians.